The End of the World As They Knew It
by anonyMOUSE11
Summary: ...and they feel fine! No, really, they actually don't. A story from each Marauder's POV around the time the Potters were killed.
1. Peter Pettigrew

A/N: It's been done before, but this is a take on the thoughts of each Marauder during the day that Lily and James were killed. Review and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or any of his family/friends/enemies etc. I'm being clever. Really, I am.  
  
"We attack tonight."  
"T-tonight, My Lord? So soon?"  
"We cannot afford to wait. We must act, before anyone _rats_ us out..." The cold voice put a silky emphasis on the word. The small man stuttering on the floor in front of him began to shake.  
"N-never, My Lord. I-I am loyal only to you."  
"Yes...I'm sure that's exactly what you told that fool Dumbledore. And your dear friends, for that matter. Remus Lupin. Sirius Black. _James Potter_." Lord Voldemort hissed the words triumphantly, watching the sniveling wreck before him flinch after each name. Peter Pettigrew drew himself up with effort.  
"I hadn't given them a second thought, My Lord." Voldemort laughed. Pettigrew flinched again.  
"Will you inform the Death Eaters?" Pettigrew asked. The question was wrenched from him mouth as though it cost him a great deal to ask it.  
"No. The Potters will not escape again. Those incompetent fools have already failed three times. There will not be a fourth. This time, we're playing for...higher stakes."  
"Higher stakes?" Pettigrew asked softly, fearfully. Voldemort looked at him sharply.  
"It's none of your concern, _Wormtail_. However, I believe Lord Voldemort is about to take a little trip. I've heard Godrick's Hollow is quite nice this time of year." For the second time that evening, Lord Voldemort laughed. Pettigrew tried to laugh along with him, but his characteristic shrill giggle sounded forced even to his ears, and he stopped almost at once.  
"No..." Voldemort whispered, almost to himself, as though he'd forgotten that Pettigrew was still listening in curiously. "Harry Potter must not escape."  
"_Harry_ Potter?" Pettigrew burst out incredulously. "Oh no, My Lord. You must have been misinformed. Harry is James's son. He's only a year old, I assure you! In fact, I personally attended his birthday party."  
  
_"Happy Birthday, Harry!" the banner on the wall exclaimed in a cheerful voice. A card of a small wizard on a broomstick waved cheekily at him, and Peter knew, even before he opened it and read its familiar scrawl, that it was from Sirius.  
  
"Dear Harry,  
Here's hoping that with a little help from your Godfather, you can be loads better than your Dad at Quidditch. Not that he was ever as good as me. Don't you believe him when he tells you about all those daring saves. He nicked them all from my days as the star Gryffindor player.  
Happy Birthday, mate. I've left you a present inside the card, as well as the wrapped ones. Don't spend it all in one place, now. Perhaps if you ask nicely, Mum and Dad will put it in their Gringotts vault for safekeeping. Watch out for your Dad though, Harry. He'll pocket it if you're not careful. Keep him on his toes, eh?  
Hope your Mum's made some of her famous chocolate cake. I could do with a slice or four.  
Love,  
Sirius"  
__  
Peter chuckled. Sirius, through and through.  
"Wormtail! Took your time, didn't you? Remus and Sirius have been here ages. Lily's made some cake, and Padfoot's guzzling up the lot, as usual. If you want to be fed, you'd better hurry." A man with untidy black hair strode up to him, grinning widely.  
"James!" Peter exclaimed. "I brought this for Harry; I'll just leave it on the table, shall I? I don't want to miss the cake."  
"Don't worry," James whispered. "Lily always makes two of everything when Sirius comes to tea. There's another cake hidden somewhere. Don't tell the glutton." Peter nodded, trying to look trustworthy. James ushered him into the kitchen, where Lily and Remus were exclaiming over the baby, and Sirius was wolfing down what looked suspiciously like an entire cake. He stopped briefly to see who was in the doorway, trying in vain to remove all the chocolate icing from his face.  
"Oh, hello Peter. I left a bit of cake for you." Sirius pointed at a paper-thin sliver looking very woebegone on the large plate. Just then, the slice slowly broke in half and toppled over sideways onto the plate, as if it was surrendering.  
"Generous of you, Sirius," muttered Remus, trying to suppress a grin.  
"I thought so," Sirius said brightly, ignoring the sarcasm. "I'm sure Peter didn't want any more than that, did you Wormtail? He's not greedy." James snorted, and Remus had a sudden coughing fit. Harry, on the other hand, began to giggle wildly.  
"Think that's funny, do you?" Sirius growled, pretending to glare at Harry. Harry, far from being at all intimidated, began to laugh louder.  
"I reckon he does think it's funny, mate." James observed gravely.  
"Shut up, you!" Sirius, muttering under his breath about ungrateful Godchildren and cruel best friends, went back to his cake.  
_  
Pettigrew blinked, dispelling the memory from his head. He struggled to recall his conversation with Lord Voldemort. Oh, that's right. Harry Potter--  
"But Harry can't possibly present a threat to you now, My Lord. Perhaps there isn't need..." Pettigrew trailed off hopefully.  
"Exactly, Wormtail. _'He can't possibly present a threat_.' That's why we must catch him now, before he grows any older."  
"But he's just a baby!" Pettigrew almost wailed. Voldemort glanced shrewdly at him.  
"We attack tonight," he repeated. "And I sincerely hope that no one is warned about our plans. All three Potters will be dead before sunrise, or I'll know who's responsible. In fact, I'll deal with him personally." Pettigrew turned white and collapsed, trembling, to the ground.  
"I-I will not fail you, Master."

A/N (again): Yeah, so, how was that? Obviously, it's only the first chapter (as you can see by the fact that there are more chapters...). Please review!


	2. James Potter

A/N: Chapter Two (yay!) That's all I really have to say. I assume that if you've gotten this far, you don't hate this. So, I feel perfectly justified in saying, "Enjoy!" And, as always, review!

Disclaimer: I still don't own them. Seriously, I'm not that good on the stock market.

"Mummy!" Harry Potter exclaimed triumphantly as he handed Lily Potter a very battered stuffed dog named Woofie. It blinked up at her and emitted a feeble whimper.

"Must renew the charm on that dog," Lily muttered in a distracted way. "Yes, Harry, Mummy's here. What's that? Is that Woofie you've got there? Yes, darling, there he is. For me? Why, thank you for the lovely present, Harry." Lily absently took the dog from her son, who immediately began to whine."Woofie! Woofie! Gimme!" Harry wailed, reaching for his toy. Suddenly, the door slammed open and James Potter came striding in.

"I'm home!" he said happily, though quite unnecessarily. Lily, who had looked up with terror at the noise, relaxed. She dropped her worried, preoccupied air, and in fact the whole room seemed to stop holding its breath. At the sight of his father, Harry stopped crying abruptly, leftover tears still swimming in his green eyes. James reached for his son, and tossed him in the air. Harry screamed with laughter. James gave him a quick hug, and set him back down on the floor. Harry sat there contentedly, watching his parents as though he could look at them all day.

"You're late!" Lily accused, though the enormous smile on her face contradicted her angry tone.

"Sorry, Lily. Dumbledore just wanted to talk to me for a bit--no, nothing new," James added quickly as he saw her face tighten. "He just wanted to ask after the Fidelius Charm, and tell me that he thought the Death Eaters were still on our trail. That bit of information came as quite a surprise to me, of course. I was certain that if we just ignored them, they'd go away. The nasty little buggers don't give up that easily, it seems. Nothing we can't handle, of course." James finished airily, giving Lily the same cocky grin she remembered so well from their days at school. She knew better now than to take it seriously.

"Yes, that's true" she added evenly, her face straight. "There's nothing that James Potter, Hogwarts genius and 'Defense against the Dark Arts' prodigy can't handle."

"Exactly," James agreed, grinning. "Though, you aren't absolute rubbish, either. No match for me (obviously), but still not bad. Er...I'll make us a cup of tea, shall I?" James added hastily as he noticed Lily attempting to glare at him while trying not to laugh. James was prepared to beat a hasty retreat to the kitchen if things got nasty. In the silence, James's grin faded as he paid proper attention to the noises that his subconscious told him had been going on for some time. Crashing...screaming. Lily glanced up fearfully. James sprang up and ran to the window, wand in hand.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off--" Lily grabbed Harry up off the floor. He'd started wailing again, confused by the noise and the people panicking around him. Lily stood, teetering indecisively at the edge of the hall, looking back at James. He motioned wildly at her, but she shook her head. She wouldn't leave him alone.

The door crashed open, and to Lily it was as if someone had just turned the sound back on in her head, but they'd turned the volume up much too high. The sight of Lord Voldemort standing in the wreckage of her front hall, and the weight of the baby in her arms decided her. She would have to trust James to take care of himself. Lily ran. 


	3. Remus Lupin

A/N: Just to clarify: Some dialogue is specifically taken from various Harry Potter books. I'm not just randomly plagiarizing because I can't come up with my own dialogue. Anything you recognize was worked in on purpose.

Dialogue: _Still_ don't own 'em. This is getting really old really fast.

He had been one for a very long time. Eleven years, in fact. Then, as if that miserable existence before Hogwarts had been some terrible dream, there were four of them. Remus couldn't quite understand it. Friends seemed to spring into being from thin air, and he still wasn't sure exactly how. At first he'd thought it was Dumbledore, assigning a few luckless boys the task of making him feel wanted. He'd never felt that in his entire life, even before he was bitten. Perhaps Dumbledore, who knew so many things, knew that as well. But as time passed and they didn't desert him; didn't get bored and wander off, Remus had to believe that, for some unknown reason, they actually _wanted_ to stay. He had three best friends who hadn't abandoned him, even when they knew his secret. He would never be alone, they told him. He'd believed them. For a time, he'd felt that this was all too good to be true. Now he knew that it was. And he was back to one again.

When the owl that told of his friend's deaths reached him, he'd stared at the parchment for half an hour without really seeing it. "James and Lily were gone...but that would mean--Sirius? No, Sirius would never...but James and Lily _were_ gone." Around and around, the thoughts chased each other. It was impossible, but it was true. It couldn't be true; and yet somehow, it was.As he sat there, trying to wrap his mind around this unsolvable problem, another owl was heading his way to tell him about Peter. Remus was terribly ashamed. He was ready to hand in his wand, in fact. Peter had done what he, Remus, hadn't been able to do. Because he'd thought about it, he'd just been too afraid to do it. He should have been out there helping Peter, but instead he was hiding. He was doing exactly what Dumbledore had told him to do, like the cowardly prefect that he was. The one time James wasn't around to tell him to break the rules was the one time it really counted. And because of him, Peter was dead.It still took Remus by surprise, sometimes. He'd save up a joke or a particularly good hex to tell James and Sirius about when he next saw them. Then he'd remember, and he'd try one more time to convince himself that it was true. Because he still didn't believe it, really. James and Sirius had always been there; _would_ always be there. He remembered moments from their days at Hogwarts. He'd see them both throw back their heads and laugh uproariously as they told everyone what they'd done to some poor Slytherin that day. When he saw them like that, Remus knew that they were immortal. He'd chuckle at the good joke they were having at his expense, and wait for them to come bursting through the door, laughing, just like he remembered them."All right, Moony?" Sirius would ask. Then James would notice the look on Remus's face and ask incredulously."You didn't really _believe_ I was dead, did you? Me, James Potter? I'm quite insulted, actually. I was sure you'd see right through it." Then Sirius would add,"Yeah, Moony, _I'm_ rather hurt as well. You didn't really think I would ever..." and Sirius would trail off looking upset as Remus tried to justify his lack of faith.He'd made up hundreds of those scenarios. The only one that came true was the only one he'd refused to consider. That he really was back to one again. 


	4. Sirius Black: Part One

Sirius Black roared up to Godrick's Hollow, and half fell, half leapt off his flying motorbike at the sight of the remains of his best friend's house.

"Lily? James? JAMES!" Sirius roared, though he knew it would be no use. When Lord Voldemort showed up at a house, it was never for a friendly visit. Sirius kicked a roof beam, and watched it skitter across the street, ignoring the sharp pain in his foot. Voldemort shouldn't have been able to kill them! They had performed the Fidelius Charm! Dumbledore had _assured_ them that as long as the Secret Keeper didn't tell--Sirius stopped abruptly, his foot poised to kick a section of wall that was still miraculously standing. Was it possible--could Peter have--? Sirius suddenly felt drained of all energy, and sank down on the bit of wall he had been about to destroy.He listened dreamily to the sound of a crying baby, accepting the noise. Sirius blinked as the meaning of the sound floated through his dazed brain. He leapt up, energized once again. He noticed the large shape emerging from the rubble surrounding the main part of the house."Hullo, Hagrid," Sirius muttered dully."'Lo, Sirius.""Is--is that Harry?""Yeah. Poor mite. Did yeh hear? You-Know-Who killed Lily an' James." Sirius grimaced, but didn't look surprised. "Bu' he also tried ter kill Harry. See his forehead? Tha' was all he got from You-Know-Who. An' Sirius, have yeh heard abou' You-Know-Who? He's gone! Leas', that's wha' I heard. We've bin tryin' so hard all these years, an' little Harry turns up, and he's gone, jus' like that!" Sirius glanced at Harry, bewildered."Are you sure, Hagrid? But--but--that's amazing! I can't quite believe it. You mean Harry _survived_ You-Know-Who's attack? Lily and James are dead, but Harry's not? Why aren't they alive, then, if You-Know-Who's gone?" Sirius glared fiercely at Hagrid, who looked down at him sadly. Sirius looked again at the bundle in Hagrid's arms, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he looked resigned, but also determined. "Well, you can give Harry to me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him.""Can't, Sirius. Dumbledore said tha' he's ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Yeh know tha' yeh can't go against Dumbledore." Sirius glared at Hagrid again, looking as if that was exactly what he was prepared to do."No, Hagrid. Lily's told me about her sister. Harry can't go there! Lily and James trusted me, and they wanted me to take Harry if--if-- anything happened...you know... to them. I'll take care of him better than those Muggles can.""It's wha' Dumbledore wants.""_Please_, Hagrid." Sirius, realizing that arguing wasn't going to sway Hagrid, had resorted to good, old-fashioned begging."I'm sorry, Sirius, really. Bu' I can't." Sirius's hand strayed to his wand, but then a funny look came over his face."Perhaps you're right, Hagrid. I might not be the best person to take care of Harry right now. I've got some business to take care of that really can't wait, and who knows whether or not You-Know-Who is really gone. Yeah, Harry's probably safer with Muggles. But...Hagrid? Can I hold him? Just for a second?" Sirius pleaded. Hagrid shook his head, looking immensely unhappy."Dumbledore wants him righ' away. 'No delays,' he said. Best do wha' Dumbledore says..."Sirius nodded, but continued to stare at Harry until Hagrid began to shift uncomfortably."Erm, Sirius. We'd better get goin', yeh know. The Muggles'll be here soon, an' we don't wan' Harry to attract any attention, if yeh get my meanin'.""Right. Oh, but Hagrid? How will you be getting Harry to his aunt's? I think it's quite far away, and well...you...." Hagrid's eyes darted to a pink umbrella stuffed inconspicuously in a large bag, and then he quickly looked away. Sirius laughed, and nodded."Yeah, that's what I thought. Why don't you take my motorbike? It's charmed with safety spells all through it, and it's the least I can do for Harry, if you won't let me take him...." Sirius scowled again. "And," he added. "I suppose I won't need it anymore. The business I have doesn't call for something quite so large. It'll be easier if I don't have to take care of my motorbike as well." Hagrid looked at Sirius suspiciously, but nodded."All righ' then. See yeh, Sirius." Hagrid got on the motorbike gingerly, and with a roar, he was gone. Sirius stared at the sky, not moving. Suddenly, something seemed to galvanize him into action. He rubbed at his eyes with an air or finality, and suddenly, there was a large black dog where Sirius had once stood. The dog growled dangerously, and then it disappeared, too. 


	5. Sirius Black: Part Two

A/N: Last chapter! Yay! So, I've finally written a Harry Potter fanfiction. Peer pressure, that's all I have to say. Speaking of which, there are some people I'd like to thank. Like...all the little people who helped me reach this pinnacle of fanfiction stardom (coughs). Right. Well, that leaves one little person; namely, Aquarius4. Give her a big round of applause folks! Without all her invaluable contributions, this fanfiction would not exist. So I'm dedicating it to her! Happy Birthday! (well...really, really early birthday!) Does this mean that I don't have to buy her a present?! (ignores glare directed her way by Aquarius4) Bye!

Disclaimer: Fanfiction, I disclaim you! waves arms theatrically Yeah, still not mine.

Sirius Black advanced on Peter Pettigrew dangerously, his wand pointed straight at Pettigrew's chest like an accusation. All around him, people stopped and stared, both at the look in Sirius's face, and at the presence of the wand. Sirius and Pettigrew were both oblivious.

Pettigrew's face tightened and his eyes darted around, evaluating every form of escape. "Don't even think about it, Peter," Sirius whispered, enjoying Pettigrew's terror. Suddenly, Pettigrew's eyes widened. In a loud stage voice, Pettigrew announced, "Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?" Sirius blinked, too stunned to do anything. Meanwhile, Pettigrew had whipped out his wand and muttered a quick curse. There was an explosion, and Sirius's reflexes took control. 

"_Stupefy!_" he called, already knowing it was too late. A jet of red light shot out of his wand and hit a building. Pettigrew was already gone. Through the dust and Muggle screams, Sirius stood, shocked. Then, in a flash, he understood. Nobody but Lily, James, Sirius and Pettigrew knew that the Potters had changed their Secret Keeper. Two of those people were dead, and one had just conveniently disappeared. Everyone would think Sirius had betrayed James, and now there was nobody there to say otherwise. The brilliance of it was overwhelming. For the first time in his life, Peter Pettigrew had outsmarted Sirius Black. There was nothing else to do, so Sirius did the only thing he could think of: he began to laugh. Once he'd started, Sirius couldn't stop. The laughter wasn't his; in fact, he wasn't sure exactly where it was coming from. He laughed, even though he felt like crying until the world ended. Eventually, the two urges melded together into some unrecognizable noise that was halfway in between.

When the Ministry came, it just made Sirius laugh harder. How ironic. He was going to Azkaban for a crime he'd been trying for years to prevent. The Ministry wizards looked absolutely terrified of him, which also struck him as incredibly hilarious at the time.

"Alright, I'm coming. Don't worry; I'm not going to kill you! You can put your wands away, too, if you really want to. No? Well, it's your choice. But I won't resist. There's nobody left to benefit from my freedom except me, and I don't particularly want it. There's nobody left to believe the truth." Sirius laughed again.

"We know the truth!" one young Ministry official shouted bravely. Sirius glanced at him in surprise. The man looked like he was about to wet himself, but he continued anyway. "You killed them all! James and Lily Potter; Peter Pettigrew; you were working for You-Know-Who all along!" Sirius grinned at him viciously, though his fears had been confirmed. Another official growled,

"Shut it, Fudge."  
  
As Sirius was being dragged into Azkaban, a sudden thought occurred to him.

_Moony!_ There _had_ been someone left to believe him. Now, of course, Sirius had lost his chance. Remus, like the rest of the wizarding world, believed him a traitor and a murderer. Sirius didn't particularly care about the world, but he wished there was some way to tell Remus the truth. Sirius didn't even want to contemplate how he would take the news. It was just another thing for Sirius to feel guilty about for twelve long years.


End file.
